Medical Update

It was brought to my attention that my last post was a bit dramatic. It's really not that bad, but I think I am just tired of Dr appointments.

Last Friday Collin had his ultrasound, which turned out normal. While I am glad that he does not have to have surgery, we still do not have an answer. He has another Dr appointment tomorrow so we will see what the next step is. Other than the Dr appointments, he is a great little guy. He only wakes up twice to eat at night and loves to be held.

Brielle had an eye Dr appointment today. She is doing great, and the glasses are doing their job. This time the Dr showed me how Brielle sees with and without her glasses. Without the glasses she sees double, which is really annoying!!! She still has the chest rattle, so hopefully the Dr will have some kind of an answer tomorrow too.

Isaiah and I went school shopping, which isn't as fun when the supplies include garbage bags and hand soap! He still loves to dance, sing, play the guitar and drums and play outside. He has been asking to do more an more "projects" and play games lately. He also likes to hold his brother and take care of his sister.

I, Calie, am just trying to keep schedules straight and make it on time to wherever we need to be! Steve is the same hard workin Dad he always has been.

My favorite picture of my loves

What a good big brother!

Isaiah's giant hand holding Collin's

My Boys

Brielle had some fun with window markers while I made supper

Everyone having fun with Collin's play gym. Actually I am not sure who is having more fun!

Brielle fulfilling her big sister duties

1 month

It's really hard to believe that it has already been 1 month that Collin has been in our lives. So much has happened in that short month.

As most all of you know my Dad finally got to his final destination of heaven 2 weeks ago. Collin has been to MN 3 times already! We also received shocking news that Steve's aunt died suddenly as well. Both will be missed dearly.

As if that was not enough to digest, we have been to the Dr. every week for Collin. He lost weight, which is normal, but can not gain it back as quickly as the Dr. wants. He is a good eater, but spits most all of it up afterwords. We had the same problem with Isaiah, but I am wiser this time around. So we are doing an ultra sound of his tummy on Friday to see if he has something that makes the muscles in his intestine/stomach area thicken. If that's the case, he will need surgery...if not, well I don't know!

Brielle has had her own health issues too. She has had a rattle in her chest for 5 weeks now. The Dr. thinks it could be allergies, so she is taking meds for that. I haven't noticed a big difference, but I will give it more time. If it doesn't clear up, we could be looking at a chest x-ray for her.

Phew, I think that's all the medical problems. I say bring them on this year, since we are close to the deductible and then stop!

Despite Collin's spitting, he is an easy-going, lovable baby, who can sleep through any amount of noise. He is fun to cuddle and has even started looking around more and more. It's really fun to watch the other 2 play with him and tickle him.

Brielle has a personality all her own. She picks out her own clothes and will not listen to my suggestions. I sometimes feel we are starting the mother/daughter love/hate relationship already! She is a true Daddy' girl, and he eats it up! He is putty in her hands with just one look. When Grandma is around though I rank 3rd on the list. (Grandma is 1st, Daddy is 2nd!)

Isaiah is getting so big! He is getting ready to start school next month. He is excited to go school shopping with me, and I am excited to take him. It will be fun to have some alone time with him. He was introduced to Grandma's camera, and is very good at taking pictures. I'm not even biased on this one, he is really good!

Steve and I...well...we are fine. Just trying too keep up with 3 kids!

Going Home

Sunday afternoon Collin and I packed up and headed home.

The nurses taking Collin's security tag off.

It has been nice being home, but a part of me misses the quiet and service of the hospital. Before we left Steve was able to spend some time at the hospital where we were able to have a sparkling juice toast.

We were greeted at the door by 2 anxious siblings...both wanting to see their new brother. I felt a little like chopped liver next to Collin, but that was ok.

Both kids really love to hold Collin and Brielle always wants to pick him up. She likes the silly faces that Collin makes and I love to hear her squeal when he makes them! Isaiah can't wait to be helpful and his new thing is giving Collin a "nukie" (giving him a pacifier).

24 hours old

We have been blessed with Collin for only 24 short hours! I really can't believe it! He just fits into our family so well already. Today Steve brought the kids to the hospital to meet Collin. I was so excited to see them!

Isaiah was more interested in what was going on in the room than in Collin. Brielle just wanted to "hold it". She was really sweet with Collin. She was very interested in the fact that he has eyes, a nose, hair, mouth....well you get it!

They also found out that my room has a bay window that is perfect to jump and dance in and boy did they have fun!

Collin gave his brother and sister squeezy applesauce, a t-shirt and a book. The applesauce was the hit!

Watching Collin get a diaper change.

He has hair!

And eyes!

Welcome to the world

We are so excited to announce the birth of Collin William Vera. He was born at 2:23pm today...Friday, July 13th, 2012. He was 8 lbs. 5 oz and 21 inches long.

His entrance to the world was a little fast paced. I had contractions since Thursday night at 8:00pm. We were told to stay home and wait until they got stronger. We all tried to get as much sleep as we could. By morning I was ready to go into the hospital to get some answers. We really didn't get many once we were there. It took several hours before we saw the doctor, who was in surgery. Finally, by the time we saw the Dr. I was dilated to 6 1/2. A HUGE shock to me!

The rest was a blur of contractions, people hooking me up to an IV, Epidural and taking blood. Once I was set the Dr. came in to break my water. A few mins after that the Dr and nurse came in to put in an internal heart monitor. I knew something was wrong, so I asked. Collin's heart rate had dropped. After listening for a few mins the Dr made the decision that the baby had to come out NOW. We had 2 choices, C-section or push with the help of the vacuum.

We opted for the pushing and it was scary...at least to me! He finally made his grand arrival with the cord wrapped around his neck. He was whisked to his nurse for cleaning and apgar tests, which he passed with flying colors. The Dr. stood and watched him for awhile and made some comments that he was stretching and almost wiggling off the table. I said he had to be a fighter with his siblings at home!

Enjoy the first pictures of our newest family member. I am already in love with him.

Update

I have been thinking about updating the blog more than a few times, and I always get distracted with something.... So here's the latest scoop:

Brielle has been growing like a weed. It has become more and more apparent lately how close in age her and Isaiah really are! Maybe close in abilities is a better way to say it!

Brielle is ready to do everything that Isaiah is doing from going to gymnastics to jumping in the pool to going down the big water slides by herself. Actually she wanted to go down a water slide that Isaiah wouldn't go down! The only thing slowing her down is her age and sometimes her language. She still isn't talking at the same level that Isaiah was at her age, but she understands EVERYTHING! Her new phrase is "do it"...meaning she wants to do it herself!

She is really the best little thing in my life. I am so lucky to have such an awesome daughter like her. Don't get me wrong she is still a major Daddy's girl, but I do cuddles and girl time with her!

Isaiah is a Mommy's boy, and I love it. Sometimes I wish he didn't always want me, but at the end of the day when he wants to cuddle he usually will choose me.

Isaiah has now completed his 2nd class of swimming lessons and has passed! I am so proud of all of the work that he has done. He learned how to put his face in the water and hold his breath under water. He gained confidence in jumping in, floating on his back, and kicking while using his arms. Pretty good for a kid who I had to push in 4 weeks ago!!!

He is also still in tumbling class where he is also doing better. He still is a bit of a weenie, but he's working on it!

Just recently we rearranged his room to make room for the crib. He chose where everything went and I was really proud of him! He is really excited to have the baby in his room and watch over the baby.

Steve is busy at church, but since youth programs don't really run in the summer it has been a nice change to have him around more often. What are we going to do this fall when it gets busy again?!?

I, Calie, have been trying to stay cool in this over 100 degree weather. Just waiting for baby #3 to make an appearance....no nothing yet....and I'm still feeling fine. I am very proud to say that my to do list before the baby comes is done. The only thing I am still working on is keeping the house clean, which feels impossible!

A few weeks ago we went to a big rig show where the kids could climb on firetrucks, police cars, and all sorts of diggers. Isaiah chose to sit in the stroller, but Brielle had fun!